NEXT GENERATION IPHONE DEVICES- TRENDFORCE PREDICTIONS

[Taiwan]–As the quality of your photos, music, videos and apps increase, the storage capacity on your iPhone can be quickly consumed. Fortunately, Apple has been increasing storage capacities as it releases new iPhones. For example, Apple started offering a 256GB storage option for the first time with the release of the iPhone 7 last year and Apple is poised to make another storage capacity change this year, according to the reputable Taiwan-based market intelligence company TrendForce.

In regards to storage capacity, TrendForce’s supply chain sources claim that the iPhone 8 will have two options: 64GB and 256GB. What is notable about this rumor is that the starting storage option would be 64GB instead of 32GB. However, it seems unusual that Apple would only offer two storage options. Generally, Apple has been selling each of its phones in three storage tiers, including the iPhone 7 — which has 32GB, 128GB and 256GB options.

When Apple prices its flagship smartphones every year, it usually adds $100 per increase in storage tiers. Last year, Apple set the price of the iPhone 7 at $649 for the 32GB, $749 for the 128GB and $849 for the 256GB. And the price for the iPhone 7 Plus was set at $769 for the 32GB, $869 for the 128GB and $969 for the 256GB. If you were to look at these numbers on a cost per gigabyte basis, then you would immediately notice that the lowest storage tier option is actually the least optimal decision.

Based on the price, you will notice that the cost per gigabyte for the 32GB iPhone 7 is $20.28 and the 256GB iPhone 7 is $3.31. And the cost per gigabyte for the 32GB iPhone 7 Plus is $24.03 and the 256GB iPhone 7 Plus is $3.79. Assuming Apple keeps the starting price of its entry-level 64GB iPhone 8 at $649, the cost per GB would be a substantially better deal at $10.14. Unfortunately, there is a chance that Apple will increase its prices and charge beyond $1,000 for its higher-end device according to previous rumors.

Speculation about the storage capacity is not the only iPhone 8 rumor that TrendForce focused on in its report. TrendForce’s supply chain sources also claim to have knowledge about Apple offering three versions of the iPhone 8, of which one will have major hardware and design upgrades such as a 5.8-inch AMOLED display. But the 5.8-inch AMOLED display is not expected to be curved as previous reports suggested due to production yield bottlenecks and drop test results. TrendForce’s sources also predict the physical home button will be integrated into the display in the higher-end iPhone 8. In terms of memory, the higher-end iPhone 8 is expected to have 3GB just like the iPhone 7 Plus.

The other two iPhone 8 options are rumored to have 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch LCD specifications. The 5.5-inch model is reportedly going to have 3GB of RAM while the 4.7-inch will have 2GB of RAM. And both of those models are believed to have storage tiers of up to 256GB.

Earlier this month, JPMorgan analyst Rod Hall said that Apple would remove the Touch ID fingerprint sensor in replacement of a 3D laser scanner for facial recognition. But TrendForce’s sources suggested that 3D sensing technology would be an addition to the higher-end iPhone 8 for facial recognition and augmented reality rather than serving as a Touch ID replacement.

Is TrendForce a credible source for Apple leaks? MacRumors pointed out that TrendForce correctly predicted that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus would be available in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB options last year. So TrendForce seems to have credible supply chain sources.

TrendForce also forecasted the production volume of Apple iPhones for the year. Apple is reportedly aiming for a total of 230 million units for 2017, of which approximately 100 million are going to be the next-generation iPhone devices. And at least 40% of that 100 million are expected to be Apple’s rumored AMOLED model.

When will Apple reveal the next iPhone? Most likely, Apple is going to unveil the iPhone 8 in September 2017 — which will come shipped with iOS 11. And Apple is likely going to announce iOS 11 at Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2017 that would kick start June 5, 2017 in San Jose, California.